THIS WEEKEND Brad
Pitt and Angelina Jolie made one irresistible pair at the North American
box office as their new action-comedy Mr. &
Mrs. Smith charged into the number one spot giving each actor
their biggest opening ever. Three other new releases saw not-so-sparkling
results while a trio of holdovers remained strong in the top five. Ticket
sales were once again down versus 2004 for the 16th consecutive weekend,
however the slump may have seen its final frame as next weekend's Batman
Begins could be able to reverse the curse.

Fox was back on top with an explosive debut for the assassin pic Smith
which exceeded expectations and grossed $50.3M over the weekend, according
to final studio figures. The PG-13
film about two covert killers married to each other played in 3,424 theaters
and averaged a sensational $14,703 per venue. Doug Liman (The
Bourne Identity) directed Smith
which opened much like last July's action sequel The
Bourne Supremacy which launched with $52.5M on its way to $176.1M
domestically. Pitt and Jolie scored new career-best debuts surpassing their
previous top efforts Troy ($46.9M)
and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider ($47.7M),
respectively.

Produced for $110M, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
boasted broad appeal and successfully attracted different audience groups
with an entertaining product that offered huge stars and was clearly different
from anything in the marketplace. Studio research indicated that females
made up 56% of the crowd while 57% were 25 and older. Tabloid coverage
earlier this year revolving around an affair between the leads certainly
gave the film more media exposure. Reviews were mixed.

Pitt, who is one of the world's top box office commodities in international
waters, is sure to lead Smith to a
colossal worldwide tally. Last year, Troy
amassed a staggering $497M globally with 73% coming from outside of North
America. The married assassins invaded dozens of overseas markets this
weekend including Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and
several European territories shooting up an additional $32M in offshore
coin from 35 markets.

After a week as king of the jungle, Madagascar
dropped back to second place but continued to flex its muscles
dropping only 39% to $17.2M in its third weekend. The DreamWorks toon has
raised its 17-day cume to $128.4M. Madagascar
started stronger than the studio's last animated entry Shark
Tale, but is not holding up as well. The Will Smith-voiced fish
pic grossed $22M in its third frame, easing only 30%, for a 17-day total
of $118.7 last October. Madagascar
may find its way to the vicinity of $170M domestically.

Dropping 41% to third place was Star Wars Episode
III with $14.9M in its fourth voyage. The George Lucas megablockbuster
has now hauled in $332.1M in 25 days and is still not declining the way
most sci-fi sequels do. Revenge of the Sith
climbed up to number 13 on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters behind
the $339.7M of 2003's Finding Nemo
and should gain two more spots by next weekend. Episode
III is also running 30% ahead of Episode
II which grossed $255.1M in its first 25 days in 2002. Overseas,
Sith boosted its cume to $340.6M pushing
the global gross to $672.7M.

Add in the domestic takes of the previous two episodes and the new Star
Wars trilogy has grossed $1.074 billion - the most ever for
any trilogy beating the $1.06 billion lifetime tally of the first Star
Wars trio. Ticket prices were lower in the years of release
for the Han Solo films so its admissions total still stands much higher.
At its current pace, Fox should expect to reach the neighborhood of $375M
domestically with Episode III.

Adam Sandler and company followed with the prison football comedy The
Longest Yard which took in $13.9M, off 47% in its third weekend.
With $118.5M in 17 days, the Paramount release has become the comedian's
sixth career $100M blockbuster and looks to be able to reach roughly $150M
before its game clock runs out.

Miramax saw a respectable opening for its kid action flick The
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D which debuted in
fifth with $12.6M from 2,655 theaters. Robert Rodriguez's latest family
project averaged a solid $4,739 and catered to those that have already
visited the zany zoo animals in the African wild. The studio is hoping
that parents who find Batman Begins
to be too dark and violent for their younger children will instead take
them for Sharkboy in the weeks ahead.

Russell Crowe lost considerable strength in the second round of his
boxing drama Cinderella Man which fell
a disturbing 47% to $9.7M. With only $34.6M in prize money after ten days,
the pricey Universal-Miramax co-production failed to show the kind of legs
other acclaimed summer films aimed at adults have displayed. A final domestic
take of around $60M seems likely. The Ron Howard-directed pic had good
reviews and positive exit poll results, however its core audience of older
adults found that the Brad-Angelina action hit was offering much more entertainment
bang for the buck in the next auditorium. With underperforming results
from Cinderella Man and last June's
The Terminal, studios are learning
a hard lesson. High-brow films with A-list stars aimed at the thirty-plus
crowd can better compete if released later in the summer rather than face
the early crop of big-budget tentpole pics aimed at broad audiences. By
mid-to-late July, mature moviegoers get sick of the mindless popcorn films
of early summer and are more in the mood for serious fare with critical
acclaim. Right now, explosions sell.

The teen girl saga The Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants dropped a moderate 42% in its second weekend and claimed
seventh place with $5.7M. Warner Bros. has grossed $23.7M in 12 days and
seems headed for a finish of $35-40M.

The Paramount remake The Honeymooners
was a flop in its debut selling just $5.5M worth of tickets in its first
weekend in theaters. The PG-13 film, updating the popular Jackie Gleason
television series with African American characters in today's society,
averaged a weak $2,897 per location from 1,912 theaters. Reviews were generally
poor for the comedy which starred Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps.

The Jennifer Lopez-Jane Fonda comedy Monster-in-Law
fell 56% in its fifth round to $2.6M pushing New Line's cume to $76.5M.
Barely debuting in the top ten with frighteningly poor results was the
French horror film High Tension which
grossed $1.9M from 1,323 theaters for a pitiful $1,434 average. A hybrid
film with dialogue both subtitled and dubbed into English, the R-rated
Lions Gate release should have better luck on video. The surprise hit Crash
dropped 43% to $1.9M as well giving Lions Gate $44.3M to date.

Another foreign film fared much better in its debut in North America.
Howl's Moving Castle, a blockbuster
smash from Japan, bowed in 36 theaters this weekend in select cities and
grossed $427,987 for a powerful $11,888 average. The Buena Vista release
was dubbed into English and featured the voices of Christian Bale, Emily
Mortimer, and Billy Crystal. Howl gobbled
up over $175M just from Japan last winter where director Hayao Miyazaki
(Princess Mononoke, Spirited
Away) is a megastar, and opens wider across the domestic market
on Friday. Reviews were very favorable.

Three films tumbled out of the top ten over the weekend. Sony's skater
flick Lords of Dogtown crashed 67%
in only its second weekend to gross $1.85M. The 1970s-set drama has taken
in a mere $9.4M in ten days and should finish with a dismal $12M. Will
Ferrell also took a tumble falling 64% with his family comedy Kicking
and Screaming which grossed $821,855 in its fifth period. With
$49.6M scored thus far, the $45M Universal release looks to end its season
with a decent but not spectacular $51M. The Jet Li actioner Unleashed
collected $215,330, down an alarming 75%, pushing the cume to $24.2M. The
Focus release is nearly done with its run and will not take in much more.

The top ten films grossed $134.3M which was down 11% from last year
when Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
remained at number one with $34.9M; but up 18% from 2003 when
Finding Nemo reclaimed the top spot
with $28.4M in its third frame.

Compared to projections, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
opened much stronger than my $37M forecast while Sharkboy
was on target with my $13M prediction. The
Honeymooners and High Tension
both debuted below my respective projections of $9M and $6M.

Take this week's NEW Reader
Survey on how the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes relationship will affect
their summer films. In last week's survey, readers were asked whether Mr.
& Mrs. Smith will open with more than $30M. Of 4,152 responses,
51% correctly guessed Yes and 49% thought No.

For a NEW review of Batman Begins
and a NEW DVD review of Seed of Chucky,
visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday
for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when Batman
and The Perfect Man both
open.

This column is updated three times each week:
Thursday
(upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday
(post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday
night (actuals). Data source: Exhibitor
Relations, EDI. Opinions expressed
in this column are those solely of the author.